Malawi: Two journalists released on bail
BBC reporter Raphael Tenthani and Mabvuto Banda of the independent daily The Nation have been released on bail after being held overnight by police in the capital, Lilongwe. The two journalists were arrested at their homes in the southern city of Blantyre for reporting that the president feared ghosts may haunt the presidential palace.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - MALAWI
16 March 2005
Two journalists released on bail
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**Updates IFEX alert of 15 March 2005**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:
MALAWI: Two journalists released on bail
New York, March 16, 2005 - BBC reporter Raphael Tenthani and Mabvuto Banda
of the independent daily The Nation have been released on bail after being
held overnight by police in the capital, Lilongwe. The two journalists were
arrested yesterday at their homes in the southern city of Blantyre for
reporting that the president feared ghosts may haunt the presidential
palace.
Both journalists have been charged with "publishing a false story likely to
cause public fear contrary to Section 60 (1) of the penal code," according
to a police statement quoted in The Nation.
The arrests stemmed from reports by the journalists alleging that President
Bingu wa Mutharika had moved out of the presidential palace because of fears
it was haunted. The allegation was widely carried by Malawian media over the
weekend, according to Reuters.
"CPJ calls for the ridiculous charge against our colleagues to be dropped,
and we urge President Mutharika to work toward decriminalizing press
offenses in Malawi," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper.
Reverend Malani Mtonga, a senior adviser to the president whom the
journalists quoted as their source, denied the reports after they appeared,
and President Mutharika has claimed that his political enemies planted the
allegation in the press, according to local and international news stories.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org.
For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
or Research Associate Alexis Arieff at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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